Search location by ZIP code

New round of aerial spraying announced for EEE in critical, high-risk towns

Share

Shares

Copy Link

{copyShortcut} to copy
Link copied!

Updated: 1:32 PM EDT Sep 10, 2019

New round of aerial spraying announced for EEE in critical, high-risk towns

Share

Shares

Copy Link

{copyShortcut} to copy
Link copied!

Updated: 1:32 PM EDT Sep 10, 2019

Hide TranscriptShow Transcript

NEWSCENTER 5 AT 5:00. EMILY: IT IS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS VIRUSES ON EARTH BUT TRIPLE E COULD BE GREATEST IN A MASSACHUSETTS BACKYARD SO IT IS EASY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ALL OF US ARE ANXIOUS ABOUT TRIPLE E. EVEN THOUGH IT IS RARE, IT IS SPREAD BY MOSQUITOES, WHICH ARE NOT. THE MORTALITY RATE FROM A TRIPLE E INFECTION IS ABOUT 50%. THE MOST DANGEROUS COMPLICATION IS ENCEPHALITIS, OR SWELLING OF THE BRAIN. THERE’S NO CURE. THERE’S NO TREATMENT, AND THERE’S NO VACCINE. FEW PEOPLE RECOVER COMPLETELY. IN FACT, MOST SURVIVORS ARE PERMANENTLY DISABLED WITH NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEMS. BUT TAKE A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS. BETWEEN 2009 AND 2013, THE WERE 10 CASES OF EEE IN THE STATE. AND ZERO CASES SINCE THEN. THIS YEAR, WE’VE SEEN SEVEN PEOPLE DIAGNOSED. SO IT IS STILL A LOW NUMBER IN A STATE WITH NEARLY 7 MILLION RESIDENTS. EXPERTS BELIEVE, SOME PEOPLE MAY BE BIT BY INFECTED MOSQUITOES, BUT THEY DON’T DEVELOP SYMPTOMS. RIGHT NOW, RESEARCHERS DON’T KNOW WHY. THEY DO BELIEVE PEOPLE OVER AGE 50 AND UNDER 15 SEEM TO BE AT GREATEST RISK FOR THE MOST SEVERE SYMPTOMS. SO CLEARLY, THERE’S A CAUSE FOR CONCERN, BUT NOT PANIC. SO YOU DON’T NEED TO CALL YOUR DOCTOR RIGHT AWAY IF YOU GET BIT BY MOSQUITO. BUT DO GET MEDICAL HELP IF YOU DEVELOP A VERY HIGH FEVER OVER 103 DEGREES. THE DANGER WILL DROP WHEN THE TEMPERATUR

Advertisement

New round of aerial spraying announced for EEE in critical, high-risk towns

Share

Shares

Copy Link

{copyShortcut} to copy
Link copied!

Updated: 1:32 PM EDT Sep 10, 2019

Additional aerial spraying for mosquitoes will take place in areas of the state at critical and high risk for the Eastern equine encephalitis virus, state officials said Tuesday.The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is scheduled to begin aerial spraying Tuesday night and continue into next week in parts of Middlesex, Worcester and Norfolk counties. While aerial spraying is weather and equipment-dependent, above-average evening temperatures this week are likely to permit the application.Communities that are scheduled to be partially or fully sprayed over the next week include:Norfolk County: Bellingham, Franklin, Medway, Millis, Norfolk, Medfield, Walpole, Wrentham, Foxborough, Sharon, Norwood, Westwood, Dover, Needham, WellesleyMiddlesex County: Ashland, Hopkinton, Holliston, Sherborn, Framingham, Natick, Wayland, Sudbury, Maynard, Stow, Hudson, Marlborough, WestonWorcester County: Berlin, Boylston, Northborough, Westborough, Shrewsbury, Grafton, Upton, Milford, Hopedale, Mendon, Blackstone, Millville, Uxbridge, Douglas, Northbridge, Sutton, Millbury, Auburn, Oxford, Webster, Southborough, Bolton, Clinton, West Boylston, Worcester, Charlton, Dudley, Leicester, Harvard As weather, temperatures, and equipment conditions permit, plans for subsequent rounds of spraying will include critical and high-risk communities in the counties of Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire and Plymouth. Residents are encouraged to visit the DPH website for the latest updates on spraying in their communities.So far this season, Massachusetts has had seven human cases of EEE. One person has died. There have also been nine confirmed cases of EEE this year in animals, including eight horses and a goat.There are 36 communities now at critical risk, 42 at high risk, and 115 at moderate risk for the EEE virus in Massachusetts.

BOSTON —

Additional aerial spraying for mosquitoes will take place in areas of the state at critical and high risk for the Eastern equine encephalitis virus, state officials said Tuesday.

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is scheduled to begin aerial spraying Tuesday night and continue into next week in parts of Middlesex, Worcester and Norfolk counties. While aerial spraying is weather and equipment-dependent, above-average evening temperatures this week are likely to permit the application.

As weather, temperatures, and equipment conditions permit, plans for subsequent rounds of spraying will include critical and high-risk communities in the counties of Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire and Plymouth.

Residents are encouraged to visit the DPH website for the latest updates on spraying in their communities.

So far this season, Massachusetts has had seven human cases of EEE. One person has died. There have also been nine confirmed cases of EEE this year in animals, including eight horses and a goat.

There are 36 communities now at critical risk, 42 at high risk, and 115 at moderate risk for the EEE virus in Massachusetts.